Heaps

“Have you done Heaps?”

I have been asked this question a hundred times. Every reply in the negative has bothered me a little bit. I’ve felt ready for Heaps for the past two years, but have never taken the time to make it happen. This week the stars aligned; the right team, the right weather, the right conditions. If not now, then when?

On September 3rd , 2016, Tom Jones, Tom Collins, Meg Allyn, Steph and I took a journey through this legendary canyon.

Heaps is simply amazing in every way. It is hands-down the best canyon I’ve ever done. It is better than Big Tony. It is better than Upper West. A foregone conclusion made several hours before the end.

The logjams throughout were a riot to climb over; never hard, but never easy. The jumps into seemingly bottomless potholes unearthed our inner children. Hours of swimming flew by in what seem like minutes. Alien moss-covered walls that bled rust redefined my definition beauty.

Heaps is just so dang good. Better than French food. Better than 20 year single-malt Scotch. Better than sex. I don’t know what else to say.

It was such a treat so experience the famed Knife Edge Ridge, the Hop Across, and the Iron Room. I was far enough behind the group that I even got to experience the confusion of the Devil's Pit by myself, heading all the way into the seemingly dead end- which was aggravating at the time, but an experience that I treasure now.

The final sequence was outstanding. I’ll tell you more about it later.

To be continued…

Knife Edge Ridge

A tree that seems to grow out of a rock, smack in the middle of the watercourse. Photo taken using a vertical panoramic.

The Hop Across

The Iron Room

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Special thanks to Tom Collins for carrying the 200 footer, getting our camping spot, for lending out warm clothes, and for picking up the permit.

Special thanks to Levi Fackrell for lending us his 400 foot rope.

Special thanks to Tom Collins and Meg Allyn for stashing the 400 footer.

Extra special thanks to Tom Jones for his execution at the final rappel. Your amazing rope skills, cool head under pressure, and selflessness added greatly to the group’s safety and to the overall experience of the day. It was a real pleasure to share this day with you Mr. Jones, I simply can’t thank you enough.

Cheesebox Canyon

On August 21st, 2016, Tony, Levi and I swam and swam and swam and swam, through Cheesebox Canyon.

I have never seen so much water in a canyon.  Not even close.

The water temperature was not too bad, maybe in the 50-60 degree range.  However, I've lost 20 lbs since the last time my 3/2 wetsuit has seen a canyon, so my wetsuit held a LOT of unwelcome water. Also, Tony accidentally brought his 7mm wetsuit, so he soon discovered he only needed the bottom half of it to survive. Much suffering and laughter ensued due to our wardrobe malfunctions.

We spent at least 4 hours swimming.  Two of the swims seemed endless; we estimated each to be about 200 yards long. There were also many narrow hallways full of water that we had to swim through, they were spooky but awesome.  Unfortunately, my camera would have done little justice in those sections. Those parts would have been best captured on a GoPro (next time!).

No doubt, Cheesebox is the best Cedar Mesa canyon that I've done.  A top-shelf classic.

We saw some rope grooves at the first drop.  If you go, please don't leave more.  Here is a spot that everyone can easily downclimb, it just takes a moment to find it.

Gravel Canyon

On August 20th, 2016, Tony, Levi and I splashed our way through Gravel Canyon.

Gravel was much more fun than I expected; it was step up in scenery and challenge from the neighboring Black Hole. Tippy-top water conditions added to the fun on this warm summer day. A bit stinky in places, a bit cold in places, but without a doubt worth a visit.

Some dudes will do anything to avoid water.

Levi enjoying his very first floating disconnect.

Tony, the bog monster.

The Hungry Cyclops. Nom-nom!

 Playing in the log soup. Note the log Levi is sitting on.

Our view of some really cool ruins from the exit route.

Benson Creek

On August 7th, 2016, Steph, Meg and I took a refreshing lap down Benson Creek.

The bushwhack up to the top was a bit of work, but rap #1 immediately rewarded our efforts. The rest of the canyon was pretty good as well. Benson turned out to be a great choice for a hot summer day.

Meg heading down rap #1

Oh yes, this is what we came for!

Steph and Meg, rap #1

Steph.

That's me falling in love with the CRITR2. Seriously, it's so good.

Rap #2

Rap #3

Meg on rap #4